We woke up early on our last full day in New Orleans and dragged ourselves over to Cafe Beignet with the hopes of a big, delicious breakfast and even bigger cups of strong coffee.

I made no secret of my love of Cafe du Monde so I have to tell you I loved Cafe Beiegnet just as much. Shaped like a tube stop with exposed brick walls, checked floor and palm painted ceiling, it’s something straight out of an avid Instagrammers dream.

And the food! The omelets are french style, cooked to perfection. There’s no shortage of hot sauce and the chicory coffee is the perfect thing to make you forget you’re up early on vacation.

Did I mention I had grits for the first time? I was so scared after the scene in Secret Life of Bees but they’re pretty dull. Probably like oatmeal, you have to spice it up to enjoy it. What do you think? Do you like grits? Any good recipes?

We left the restaurant and entered the thickest fog I’ve ever experienced.

The night before we purchased tickets (and dealt with the absolute worst customer service) to go on the Steamboat Creole Queen for a history tour.

As we boarded, we couldn’t see anything past the railing and had such reservations. What’s the point of a Riverboat tour if you can’t see anything?

We had a very eccentric historian tour guide to entertain us as we stared out at a never ending wall of grey, sitting on wet benches with a cold wind making an absolute reck of our hair.

Eventually the wind and rain got the best of us and we headed down into the lush cabin to warm up until we got to our stopping point.

When we stepped off the plank onto solid land, the sun was putting up a vicious fight to come out.

We were immediately greeted with the sight of the most gorgeous pink mansion only to be told that that house has absolutely nothing to do with the Battle of New Orleans.

We were led to an empty field with a backdrop of a factory and listened to a very monotoned Park Ranger tell us about the battle. Well, that’s what we were suppose to do . . .

We snuck away and did a bit of exploring on our own (reenacting movie scenes like the true adults we are) and by the time we boarded the boat again, the sun was out in full force.

Completely famished (as always) after the tour, we headed over to the French Market for snacks and a spot of people watching.

Enclosed on top and open air on the sides, I think there never is a time the Market isn’t crowded.

The front half is full of local produce, spices and food stalls where you can find everything from organic smoothies to freshly shucked oysters.

The back half is the tourist trap. Every souvenir you could ever want is there in plenty as is every tourist in the city. The kind of place where you have to walk sideways through the walls of people jammed into narrow lanes just to get through.

We spent the rest of the day strolling around the French Quarter and eating ice cream on the River Walk.

We ended our night at an incredible restaurant (Muriel’s) but I have no photos for you. I was so swept up in being in this incredible city with one of my favorite people, the few pictures I took, I took hastily and they didn’t turn out which I’m fine with. It’s nice to live in the moment.

The next morning we rushed off to the airport to head home to opposite sides of the country, already planning our next trip.

If you’ve never been to New Orleans, you must. If you’re afraid it won’t live up to your expectations, it will. It’s the most incredibly vibrant city I’ve ever been and I highly recommend you add it to your bucket list of must see places in your life.